


Seismology

by toughbeifong



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Canon Related, POV Second Person, Pre-Canon, might diverge from canon, we'll see, written in verse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:20:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24558325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toughbeifong/pseuds/toughbeifong
Summary: but you, little lotus, are living.you are breathing.you cannot see the world,but you know it is there—it is real, as real as you.the story of toph beifong and how she moved the earth to find herself.told through free-verse poetry.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 11





	Seismology

_ expanding lotus _

you are born into a world

you cannot see.

apologies, as if precious air,

pass from lips to ears.

for now, you do not understand,

but in time you will know

that the day of your birth

was, in part,

the day of your death.

it is with a heavy heart

that your stillbirth is announced.

poor, poor poppy,

to have carried a babe so long

only to render her to the earth—

where she will weather,

erode,

and mingle with the things long-buried—

the moment she arrived.

but you, little lotus, are living.

you are breathing.

you cannot see the world,

but you know it is there—

it is _real_ , as real as you.

and slowly, you learn,

the world is so _full_ ,

full of things—

things to taste,

hear,

touch,

experience.

* * *

_ land of the flying boar _

but the world, you learn

has an edge.

the world

is about thirty acres long.

you reach the edge

and are played the same song each time:

“toph, it’s too dangerous.”

“toph, you could get hurt.”

“toph, no.”

you hate that word:

“no”.

it’s a word of ceasing possibility,

bounded potential,

of limits.

it is a word that over time

becomes attached to your name.

“toph” and “no”

are so often in each other’s company

that in your private language lessons

you declare the two synonyms.

sifu peng sho,

snitch that he is,

tells your parents.

* * *

_ “it is not that…” _

mother says

“it is not that we don’t love you”

you hear

“but you aren’t what we wanted”

father says

“it is not that you are weak”

you hear

“but you can’t be trusted to even walk the grounds alone”

mother says

“it is not that we are embarrassed by you”

you hear

“but gaoling thinks you are dead

and we will not

correct them.”

father says

“it is not that we wish you prisoner”

you hear

“but you will never leave this place”

it is not that you bring them shame,

but you know you will never

bring them pride.

* * *

_ sounds of the world going by _

well,

while you certainly cannot

see the world as it is,

they all forget one thing:

you _hear_.

in time, when you grew old enough

that irony was a concept to grasp,

you’d find it funny—

sad,

debilitating,

humiliating,

but funny—

that one disability

renders you entirely useless,

giving you a power over them

they never anticipated.

1) you know the avatar is gone

and that he is important to the world  
mother says he failed everyone—

you suppose she knows

a thing or two about  
failing to care for those you’re supposed  
to love

2) for most of the day

mother and father are too busy

to enforce their rule of

“toph must never wander alone”.

money over their daughter,

it seems.

well, it works for you.

3) there is something

called earth bending,

and for the first time

in your five little years,

you feel _excitement_.

**Author's Note:**

> hi all, i do hope you join me on this little adventure and i really hope you enjoyed


End file.
